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All the materials in last message to friends are working teaching documents subject to review, alteration or abandonment in classroom practice. Anyone is welcome to use this stuff, but copyright remains with Thor May. Feedback, positive or negative, is very welcome.

ESL materials & ideas developed in China

Job Interview Lesson Plan

a) Scenario

1. Your institution (university etc.) wishes to appoint a native-English speaking teacher from overseas, and had brought several candidates for interview. (For the purposes of this exercise, we will take your present English teacher to be one of the candidates).

2. Your Foreign Language Department has formed an interview panel, of which you are a member. The panel has four members. These members are i) the head of the department; ii) a specialist in English language teaching; iii) a representative from the institution's personnel office; and iv) a representative from a non-involved department, such as Mathematics.

3. Each panel member will ask questions appropriate to their position. For example, the HOD will ask general questions about the candidate's experience, skill and motivation. The language specialist will concentrate on language teaching skills, and the personnel person will deal with general conditions of employment. Personnel staff normally have some training in psychology, and will check also that the candidate is suitable psychologically for the position. The non-involved departmental member will keep an eye on overall questioning, and ask questions that others may have overlooked. His/her job is to keep fairness and balance.

4. The HOD will also be chairperson of the interview. The chairperson must control the interview process. He/she will greet the candidate, introduce panel members, and explain the interview procedure. He/she will also offer a brief introduction to the institution, and at the end of the interview, invite the candidate to ask questions.

b) Project  Plan

1. form groups

2. decide who each group member will represent, and appoint a chairperson

3. appoint a secretary

4. brainstorm possible interview questions

5. organize interview questions

6. appoint an interview panel

7. assign individual questions to different panel members

8. interview candidate

c) Types of Questions

1. yes/no Questions 3. factual Qs     5. hypothetical scenarios

2. wh-Qs 4. hypothetical Qs 6. Qs the candidate might ask

d) Interview Factors
(only examples following: not all might be relevant to the job)

1.   qualifications

2.   experience

3.  publications, completed projects, research etc.

4.  contingent personal factors

i) availability

ii) family & other commitments

iii) extra interests & skills

 

d) Personal Qualities Relevant to the Job

1. team player? 3. creativity 5. attention to detail   7. leadership skills  9. empathy  11. voice projection & clarity

2. initiative 4. charisma 6. analytic skills 8. adaptability 10. persistence 12. self-confidence

                      

e) The Interview

1. greet the candidate 3. explain the interview procedure 5. ask the interview questions   7. explain the post-interview follow-up

2. introduce panel members 4. briefly introduce the organization 6. invite questions from the candidate

 

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"Job Interview Lesson Plan" copyrighted to Thor May 1999; all rights reserved

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